Maia Tskhvaradze, head of Climate Change Division, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia
In late March, 2021 OECD issued a report “Sustainable Infrastructure for Low-carbon Development in the EU Eastern Partnership”. The report analyses planned infrastructure projects, decision-making frameworks related to infrastructure development and strategic planning documents in the six countries of the EU Eastern Partnership: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the countries of the Eastern Partnership had experienced rapid growth and, in many cases, begun undertaking sweeping market reforms, the report reads.
The current infrastructure gap in EaP countries combined with the economic downturn resulting from COVID-19 represent a major challenge in the region, but also an opportunity to promote infrastructure projects that will boost investment and employment while contributing to progress towards long-term objectives of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
StrategEast has interviewed major experts from EaP countries. Here are the answers from a Georgian expert.
Do you consider the infrastructure projects planned and under construction in your country to fully support the country’s long-term development and climate objectives? Do you believe your country needs to improve the integration of climate change and other environmental concerns into infrastructure development decision-making processes?
Georgia is highly vulnerable to climate change. Unique geographical location, complex dissected relief, land cover diversity, and specific climate sets conditions for a wide variety of negative consequences of climate change in Georgia.
Climate change strongly affects strategic infrastructure, (energy, tourism). Georgia has experienced devastating floods on its hydropower plants; intensified Black Sea storms have destroyed tourism infrastructure many times.
Within its updated NDC, Georgia prioritizes strategic infrastructure, which is going to be assessed in terms of vulnerability. For mitigation purposes, MEPA together with MoESD is developing National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) which is fully aligned with NDC and Georgia’s 2030 Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan.
Though effects are critical, yet mainstreaming of climate change adaptation in sectoral policies is still limited. For this reasons currently, MEPA is working on climate mainstreaming analyzes and recommendations for sectors of Energy, Health & Agriculture. Additionally, MEPA is planning to start work on National Adaptation Plan and assess the key vulnerability of the priority sectors/resources including infrastructure, these should support mainstreaming climate change issues during the infrastructural planning.
